A 2008 file photo of boy playing with toy horses during a class offered through the Denver Preschool Program at the Greta Horowitz Learning Center in Denver. (Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post)

There was good news today for Colorado kids who are approaching elementary school age.

The state was awarded $29.9 million in Race to the Top federal funding speed up plans to provide quality preschool education.

The money will help develop programs that serve children with the highest needs. It also will be used to create a statewide quality rating system to evaluate early learning programs, develop a pool of highly qualified preschool teachers and start an early childhood education office at the state Department of Human Services.

The efforts sound similar to those undertaken by the Denver Preschool Program, which was created by a 2006 taxpayer-approved sales tax.

Recently, an independent study of the Denver initiative showed the vast majority of kids who graduated from its program were ready for school both academically and socially.

“This research echoes what we know from decades of research – high-quality preschool prepares all children for kindergarten and beyond, especially those who are most likely to start behind and stay behind,” said Eileen Piper, CEO of the Denver Preschool Program, in a prepared statement about the report.

If the state can take the Denver Preschool Program’s result to scale, Colorado kids will be well-served.

Vincent Carroll is The Denver Post's editorial page editor. He has been writing commentary on politics and public policy in Colorado since 1982 and was originally with the Rocky Mountain News, where he was also editor of the editorial pages until that newspaper gave up the ghost in 2009.

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